Sound Bar to Sub (1 Viewer)

I'm fairly new to the world of sound and recently purchased an Insignia NS-SB314 sound bar for my dorm, I wanted to add a sub for a bit more base, so I found a Sherwood SP-210W on ebay and had it shipped. I also picked up a 10 ft. sub wire and a sub wire to L and R splitter. When I tap the L or R wire to the connector I hear a buzzing sound but when I plug it in, no sound comes out. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks,

Ben

That soundbar doesn't have a subwoofer output.

They included a hook-up for one. Seems misleading to me.

Well...

None of the tech blurbs mention it.

What is mentioned about it in the manual?

It just says connect a sub woofer cable between the two as an optional step.

So it looks like you have a sub out on it so I'm kinda confused as to why it's not working. You might have a faulty unit or you might not have something adjusted correctly. I have some questions for you.

• How do you have the soundbar connected to your source(s)?
• You said you have a sub cable and splitter? Are you splitting the sub out to the populate both r/l inputs on the sub?
• How high is the gain set on the amp?
• What is the xover set at?
• Are you getting a light on the amp indicating it's getting power?

1. The sound bar connects to the tv through R and L audio cables, and it has a Bluetooth setting for my phone.


2. Yes the sub cable goes from the bar and is split to R and L cables to connect to the low level inputs on the back of the sub


3. I don't see a setting for gain, it just has knobs for sub volume and crossover frequency, and a button for sub woofer phase, normal or reverse.


3. The volume is turned all the way up and crossover is set to 100


4. There is a light on the back that turns yellow, but even when music is playing, after a while it turns red and I guess goes to sleep. I checked the fuse, the fuse isn't blown.

OK all good info. Sub gain that I mentioned is the same as volume as it's labeled on your sub. What happens if you plug the TV directly into the sub using the rca cables? I it's probably going to sound crappy that's OK, I'm testing the sub to see if the amp is properly working. If it does start playing then it seems the issue is with the soundbar...you could return it hopefully. If the sub doesn't make noise then it sounds like the amp in the sub is not working properly or the leads to the driver fell off the sub in transit. To check this you would have to remove the driver and check the leads going to it from the amp. If they are hooked up and tight then you might have to return the sub if you can. If you can't you could always make it passive and get an external amp or replace the plate amp in it with another plate amp.

Ok so I plugged the sub into the tv and it does sound like shit, but it works. I get plenty of base that way. So I need to return the sound bar? Any tips on what I should look for this time. I didn't really want to go over $100 on the bar since its just for my dorm. I originally got the bar from best buy.

Nice now you know what you're working with. So the sub does function...what you said it sounds bad what exactly did it sound like. It should have been just all low tones with the xover set at 100Hz you shouldn't have been getting much else but bass. Did it sound clean? You might have to turn down the "volume" on the sub so it doesn't distort. I would go to half and adjust from there. I'm concerned that the amp is working but the driver is having some issue if it doesn't sound right. You'll have to determine that as we can't hear it.


If you're looking for another soundbar for less than $100 that has a subout...I would look at this guy the S2920W-C0. Look for it at your local Wally World and Target as it's being phased out. You could also look for the 38" version at Target , You could also just return the that Insignia and see if the new one works with the sub. Another option would be to just get your money back and get a soundbar with a sub included.

If you wanted to order in after getting your money back Amazon has both the 29" and 38" models new and refurbed. Just an option I wanted to throw out there for you.

Thanks, I really appreciate all the assistance.

You're very welcome.